Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Title Announcement

CNN analyst Andrew McCabe on Tuesday pointed out that the Department of Justice never responded to President Donald Trump's IRS lawsuit — and how that could impact Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination.

The former deputy director of the FBI told CNN anchor Kasie Hunt that, as Blanche's nomination remains in limbo ahead of Thursday's vote, further questions about Trump's former personal attorney have come to light.

"Let's remember, there essentially was never really a true lawsuit here," McCabe said. "The president sued the IRS for $10 billion. The Department of Justice never even answered the complaint. So, there were never two opposing parties. The Justice Department never stood up and defended the United States in the way that it did in every other suit brought by the same leak from the same person."

This was unusual, McCabe explained.

"And because of that oddity, that's a very suspicious decision on the part of people like Todd Blanche and others," he said. "The lack of a true controversy meant that the entire thing was about to get dismissed. Before that could happen, they entered into these agreements. One of them, of course, created the weaponization fund, and the second one essentially granted complete immunity forever to Donald Trump, his family members and businesses."

McCabe described the situation further.

"It was basically a giveaway from the Department of Justice to the president," McCabe said. "How this thing stands or was ever conceived — I have no idea. I've been around many, many settlements of criminal matters, some of which involved IRS criminal matters, and have never seen any language like this. I think it's absolutely unprecedented and an incredibly bad idea."

The IRS settlement became a sticking point for some Republican senators during Blanche's confirmation hearing. On Tuesday, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said there is no deal on Blanche's confirmation because of the settlement and the so-called anti-weaponization fund, Politico reported.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's blunders and bluster are about to become a central argument against Republican lawmakers in the upcoming midterm election, according to a new report.

Democratic candidates and campaign strategists consider the controversial Donald Trump Cabinet member to be a target-rich subject when it comes to putting their GOP opponents back on their heels, Politico reported Thursday.

"The more Hegseth puts himself out there, the more he does the work for us," said Matt Corridoni, a Democratic strategist told Politico.

"Normally the Secretary of Defense is not such a politically focused position, but he has pushed it into hyper politics. So you're going to see candidates using him as a foil more and more."

Hegseth's television personality has made him instantly recognizable, and his record of controversy provides endless ammunition for Democrats in key districts, the report states.

"Campaign planners said they expect candidates to call out Hegseth even more as the war against Iran continues," the report stated. "Trump has repeatedly said the Defense secretary was among the first and most vocal proponents of the fight, which has now lasted more than five months and led to a spike in global energy prices."

Cait Conley, an Iraq war veteran running for New York's 17th Congressional District, has been particularly brutal, calling Hegseth unqualified and incompetent while quipping that he knows "more about botox than bombs."

Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot running for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, has made Hegseth's removal a centerpiece of her campaign. She's called for his resignation at every stop, framing him as a threat to military integrity.

"Pete Hegseth is a disgrace to the office that he holds, and the reason why I believe he is deeply dangerous is partially because of the polarization," Bennett said.

"We have an obligation to call those things out when we see it, and to make sure that we are standing up for our service members who do not have the ability to speak out about these things."